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Dry Gold Panning in Arizona

Weekend prospectors like nothing so much as finding a show of gold in the bottom of their pans. Gold panning is a fairly simple and inexpensive mining method: the miner fills a flat pan with a handful of dirt, adds water and starts swirling. You can do a similar operation without water, a process called dry gold panning. And Arizona is the perfect place for dry panning because of its dry dirt and history of gold.

Things You'll Need

Gold pan
Good boots
Drinking water
Access to public land

Instructions

- 1
  Prospectors have found measurable amounts of gold at sites throughout Arizona. Although much of the state’s gold is found as a by-product of mining other metals, including copper and silver, Arizona has known a few gold rushes in its day. Prospectors made fairly rich discoveries at the Vulture Mine near present-day Wickenburg, and the San Francisco District, south and west of Kingman, produced more than 2 million ounces during its lifetime. And the Jerome District in Yavapai County is the state’s biggest producer of gold. These might be good spots to try dry panning.
- 2
  
  Take the proper supplies. Gold miners use a pan with a broad, flat bottom and angled sides. Because the days in Arizona can be extremely hot, you must take water with you for drinking. Dress appropriately: Hard-toed boots will protect you from rocks and snakes; long sleeves and long pants will protect you from the sun and mosquitoes; a hat and sunglasses will help your skull.
- 3
  When dry-panning for gold, work with sand or gravel that is completely dry. The more moisture you have in your material, the less success you’ll have in separating the gold from the grit. If you must, spread your material in the sun to dry before you try dry-panning.
- 4
  Place a small amount of material in your pan and begin to swirl it in a circle around the pan’s bottom. When you are dry-panning, you want the small bits of gold to shake down to the bottom of the material in the pan; you won't be washing away the grit, however. This method is not as effective as panning with water, but it is a good way to work for gold in Arizona.
- 5
  Experienced prospectors recommend that you work over the material you collected from your dry-panning operation. Use water and pan the material again to further separate your gold from the other material.

Gemology